April is National Counseling Awareness Month

April is National Counseling Awareness Month. Counselors
work as mental health specialists in many settings throughout the
community. They work in clinics, private practices, agencies, hospitals, schools,
prisons, and in other settings. Common specialties within professional
counseling include mental health counseling, school counseling, career
counseling, rehabilitation counseling, addictions counseling, couples and
family counseling, and bereavement counseling.

Counselors
help many people get through difficult life transitions, make important and
needed changes, or deal with personal issues they may need help addressing.
They are experts in assessing issues and helping to address problems by
providing tools to clients. Dr. David Kaplan, Chief Professional Officer of the
American Counseling Association, says, "Counselors work on a strength-based
approach; they will assess your strengths and the way these strengths can be
used to support you. In addition, counselors focus on the cultural context of
your issues and will take your culture into account."

Niagara Hospice is fortunate to have a great team of
counselors working with our Niagara Hospice families. When a loved one dies,
mourning is an essential step in the healing process. Our hospice counselors
work with clients to validate their experience of grief, to find strength and to
teach coping skills. While grief is very personal, there are many common
experiences that accompany the death of a loved one. Talking with a counselor
enables clients to learn more about the grief process and to identify
particular areas of strength and support, as well as areas of potential growth.
Grief support is offered in a variety of ways including individual and group
counseling, workshops and groups for adults, memorial events throughout the
year, a Grief Library for resource materials on grief and loss, as well as
information and referral services.

Our Niagara
Hospice bereavement counselors continue to serve family members for 13 months after
the loss of their loved one. Their goal is to be there for those who are left
behind as they move through the grieving process. These counselors understand
that while grief is often a very difficult and painful experience, it is also a
normal and natural response to loss. The goal of bereavement support is to
provide education and support to our hospice families to help them navigate the
journey of grief and adapt to their losses in a healthy way. For more information about bereavement counseling in hospice
care, visit www.NiagaraHospice.org/bereavement or call Niagara
Hospice at 716-439-4417.

Thank you to all the counselors out there lending compassionate,
listening ears and expertise to your clients and their families.